If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. If you are kind only to your friends, how can you be different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. [Matthew 5:41-42 (NLT)]
In Jesus’ day, Roman law allowed a soldier to compel any able-bodied man in a conquered province to carry the soldier’s gear one mile. A Roman mile was 1,000 paces of five feet each (a little less than our mile) and a soldier’s pack could weigh as much as 100 pounds. In a similar way, Roman soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus out of Jerusalem. Such impressment by an occupying army was viewed with outrage by the Jews and yet Jesus told them to willingly carry the load beyond what demanded by the soldier.
We don’t live with an occupying army so what does this command mean to us? Is the second mile simply bringing up a neighbor’s trash cart after we’ve brought up ours or is it more? Most life/career coaches tell their clients that going the extra mile is the secret to business success. The employee who gets promoted usually is the one who went above and beyond what was demanded. Is self-promotion the purpose of taking the second mile?
The second mile Jesus demands is more than another 1,000 paces, bringing in a neighbor’s trash bins, or being an exemplary employee. The first mile is loving, helping and praying for our neighbor; the second mile is loving, helping, and praying for our enemies or those we don’t know. That first mile is the mile we can see; the second mile is the one we can’t—the one that might have rough terrain, steep hills and slippery slopes, and without the promise of positional or financial gain. Jesus lived in the second mile. He touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable, and bore the unbearable. As Christians, how willing are we to take that extra mile?
Let us remember that, when Simon of Cyrene carried the cross to Golgotha, he didn’t carry it for the soldiers; he carried it for Jesus. When we go the extra mile, we’re not doing it for our neighbor, boss, or even our enemy; like Simon, we’re doing it for the Lord! A Christian’s second mile is carried willingly and doesn’t stop at 5,280 feet; there is no end to our second mile because there is no limit to our love. Rather than first mile believers, we must be second mile disciples!
When we love the Lord, obedience ceases to be a burden. Obedience becomes a delight. [Joseph B. Wirthlin]
When she lived in Florida, my mother-in-law hired a woman to do the cleaning. In spite of representing herself as a “cleaning service,” this woman had a long list of “won’ts”—won’t do windows, mirrors, get on step ladders, move furniture, or bend over to wipe the baseboards, etc. Nevertheless, she always had a long list of complaints and financial needs that she was more than willing to share.
Although it sounds like something Satan might say to his demons, it was Alex Dumas, CEO of Hermès, who said “Our business is about creating desire.” It’s not just Hermès (with their $8,500 Della Cavalleria “magical bag”) that is in the business of creating desire; that seems to be the goal of many businesses. The LA Times has a “Coveted” column in their Image magazine featuring a curated list of luxury items (like $950 Gucci sneakers) they claim to be “mandatory” or “must-haves.” The October Vogue featured “coveted street style trends,” (like $1,364 velvet trousers and $600 Levi jeans) while urging its readers to purchase them “before it’s too late.” There’s even an on-line game called “Covet Fashion” in which you build your virtual dream wardrobe and then follow links to purchase the desired items.
While researching 1st century dining habits, I learned how guests traditionally were seated. Although da Vinci’s famous mural places Jesus in the middle of the group at a long rectangular table, the position of Jesus (as the host) would have been second from the left on the left side of a U-shaped table. Customarily, a trusted friend was seated to the host’s immediate right and the guest of honor to the host’s immediate left. The rest of the diners were seated to the left starting with the highest-ranking person and proceeding on down to the least important. If a servant were present during the meal, the last seat was his since it was closest to the door. With no servant, it was given to the youngest or lowest ranking guest.
Friends recently watched their young grandson while his parents enjoyed a much needed “adults only” vacation. Accustomed to the permissive parenting of today, the youngster wasn’t overly familiar with obedience. One of the first things he learned during his visit was that, “Grandpa doesn’t count.” Apparently, his parents give him a count of three (or more) to decide whether or not to obey them; Grandpa, however, did not!
Every breakfast, lunch and dinner, a recent house guest consumed between five and fifteen supplements like flaxseed and fish oils, magnesium, vitamin D, calcium, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and resveratrol (among others). Annually, people like our guest spend around $35 billion on supplements, vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and other substances to enhance their health. It doesn’t stop there; every year, five million diet books are published, at least 17 million cookbooks are purchased, and $33 billion is spent on weight loss products. Add to that all of the magazines, food channels, websites, blogs, and podcasts dedicated to nutrition, recipes, and weight loss and you have a nation of people who seem obsessed with what goes into their bodies.
Devotions of the Heart 